The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shuttered more than 70 websites recently. Some were e-commerce operations. Others were set up to use filing sharing technology to transfer premium feature-length content which violates copyrights. Still others were hacker sites which offered software for malicious attacks on other websites and ways to illegally break into consumer electronics devices.
The improper use of the Internet, at least as it is defined by US law, also extends to Chinese disruption of sites like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). A recent release of government documents from WikiLeaks includes information about the People’s Republic’s attempts at cyber-disruption. It is a practice about which the US government and security experts with expertise in online cyber-misbehavior have suspected for some time.
The open issue about these kinds of crack downs is that they happen after the offending site has been created and begun to operate. As one offensive site is taken down, another one with similar features appears. As China is accused of attacking US government sites, it seems to ignore whatever warnings come with the revelations.
The trouble with overcoming cyber crime is that it is, like most crimes, hard to detect and stop before the act itself. And, the US government and its allies in their attempt to end illegal use of the Internet will need to create technology which is more advanced than that created by its enemies. This process means there’s a need for better engineers with more devious minds. The government does not specialize in the employment of these kind of people.
But, the war on cyber crime will need to take on a new dimension if it has any chance to work. The government must give incentives to the offenders to become friends.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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